When Ross King met Dolly Parton

Dynamite Dolly has had a cracker of a year

Maybe 2014 was the year of the comeback? First Matthew McConaughey unexpectedly became the world’s best actor, then Kate Bush made a triumphant return. Even Paddington Bear got in on the act.

After 50 years in showbusiness, though, the most surprising comeback has to be Dolly Parton. The iconic country star’s album, Blue Smoke, was a runaway success. It reached No 2 in the UK charts, a mainstream success she’s never enjoyed before, and Dolly went on a massive world tour over the summer.

And then there was a glorious appearance at Glastonbury. She braved the mud in sparkly white cowboy boots to make a barnstorming appearance that was the talk of the festival. It seems wee Dolly is dynamite once more, but if you listen to her, she’s never really been away.

“I love working,” the 68-year-old tells me, with a look on her face that says she’s got no intention of slowing down. “People might say I’ve made a comeback, but I never went anywhere. I hope to always work, like Bob Hope or Johnny Cash. I feel I’m one of the old-timers.

“Make no mistake, I’ll be working until the day I die. I’ll hopefully keel over on stage.”

Dolly and I are sitting having a festive chinwag in Nashville and she’s dressed like one of Santa’s little helpers. Like only Dolly could.

“Deck the halls with boughs of Dolly,” she cracks as we sit down, the sort of cheesy line your aunty would come out with at Christmas to make you groan. But, coming from the woman herself, it just made me smile. Some might have dismissed her as a fake or a novelty act but, in reality, she’s full of honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned Southern charm.

Just how is it possible to dislike the woman who wrote a heartfelt classic like Jolene? I’ve interviewed plenty of stars over the years in my time as a Hollywood reporter, and she is as nice as they come.

A lot has been said about plastic surgery, but there’s nothing fake about her friendliness, and you can take it from me that Dolly looks lovely up close. Her petite frame is clad in a red and green festive dress which, let’s just say, put her … er … assets, front and centre.

She’s got what I’d say are American features everything is big and bright, from the tips of her platinum tresses down to her humungous high heels. And her lovely beaming smile is almost as big as her home, which she’d turned into a winter wonderland in time for Christmas.

“I loved those down-home country Christmases,” she smiled. “I love the tradition of Christmas, each family has their own way of doing it. And I love the young kids, especially. I love seeing my older relatives, but I love seeing the kids. I go straight to them when we all get together at this time of year.”

Dolly and husband Carl have been together a staggering 48 years. This must be some kind of showbusiness record, but the pair never had any children. It’s a decision she says she doesn’t regret. In fact, when she talked about her mum was the only time Dolly seemed anything less than sparkling and cheery.

“My mother was so religious,” she explained. “At Christmas, she would read the bible and we would sing the songs. I would sing Silent Night and O Little Town Of Bethlehem and my mother would turn it into a little play and make it special for us.

“We were country kids and we didn’t have store-bought toys. I always think of my early childhood and my mother when the decorations go up. I miss her the most at Christmas.”

I wonder what must drive Dolly, who’s of pensionable age, to keep going like she does. She’s not short of cash but her hard work this past year means she’s probably more popular than she’s ever been.

“As you get older, you start to wonder if you’re going to last, and if people will remember you. I guess everybody feels that. So you keep pushing yourself.

“With Glastonbury, I was so tense. I wasn’t sure if I’d fit with that crowd. Usually I’m ready for going on stage, but my heart was racing. But there was no way out of it. The crowd was great. They knew every song, and we just had a good old time!

“And the original Blue Smoke album is still in the UK charts,” she added. “But this new one (with a bonus Greatest Hits disc) would make a good Christmas present.”

I can’t believe Dolly made such an obvious plug. I was so surprised I nearly dropped a copy of the book I wrote, Taking Hollywood, which is available from bookshops.

Dolly’s got one of those laughs as well when she handed me her CD she dropped a cushion and I helped her pick it up. I remarked that I’d dreamed of the day Dolly Parton would ask me to help her with her pillows and she cackled away gamely.

“I’ll always be busy,” she added when I asked her of her plans for the future. “There’s nothing like writing a song. There’s nothing like recording it. And there’s nothing like playing it for people.”

It’s genuinely great to hear.

And, as the old joke goes, Dolly Parton has her knockers but I’m not one of them!